DSF Charitable Foundation

Private foundation · EIN 25-1847237 · since 2000dsfcf.org·Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh·Updated 13 October 2026

At a glance

$6.3M

Annual giving, 2024 tax year

From the Form 990-PF filing

$30,000 to $250k

Grant range

From grants in the 990-PF filings

$100k

Typical grant (median)

25 grants in the latest filing

Open to applications

Rolling, no deadlines · unsolicited applications welcome

Key takeaways

DSF Charitable Foundation funds work in health, human services and education, with its giving focused on Southwestern Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh, so this is the area to check your organisation sits within before approaching it.
Most grants to organisations fall between $30,000 and $250,000, the median grant is $75,000, and half of its grants to organisations are $75,000 or less, so a request in that range is realistic, even though it has made one much larger grant of $3,250,000.
To apply, send an initial inquiry letter by email, signed by your executive director or another authorised representative; the process is rolling, so there is no fixed deadline to work around.
Around a third of its grant dollars go to organisations it has funded before, suggesting it keeps up some ongoing relationships, but most grant dollars still go elsewhere, so new applicants fitting its themes and area should feel able to approach it.
It does not fund requests to support individuals or contributions to endowments, so these should not apply.

Overview

DSF Charitable Foundation is a US private foundation based in Vero Beach, FL.

What they fund

Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2024, TY2023, TY2022) and its website, with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.

Priority Areas

The foundation seeks to promote excellence in three programme areas: health, human services and education. Its grant programme focuses on southwestern Pennsylvania, primarily Pittsburgh, where it says it is based. It has a particular interest in helping to create or sustain models of excellence that have potential to be replicated elsewhere and may therefore be of more general benefit to the nation. Its stated approach combines this regional focus with an interest in work that can be replicated and benefit people beyond the immediate area.

Themes

Health
Human services
Education

Geographic Focus

Priority: Southwestern Pennsylvania; Pittsburgh.

What They Don't Fund

Requests for support of individuals
Contributions to endowments

How to apply

Organisations start by emailing an initial inquiry letter signed by the applicant organisation's executive director or authorised representative.

Application success factors

Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 35% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in its TY2022 or TY2023 filing.
Grant size: Across its TY2022, TY2023 and TY2024 filings, half of its 78 grants to organisations were $75,000 or less.

What the foundation says:

The foundation is particularly interested in helping to create or sustain models of excellence that can be replicated elsewhere and provide broader benefit to the nation.

Where grants go

From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.

Grant dollars by state

Pennsylvania63%

Florida27%

North Carolina4%

Kentucky2%

South Carolina1%

Texas<1%

5 other states: 2%

The largest single recipient received 25% of grant dollars to organisations.
In tax year 2024, 35% of grant dollars went to organisations DSF Charitable Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
No grants were paid directly to organisations outside the US.
1% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.

Grants

25 grants in the latest filing analysed · median $100k

How much do they typically give?

Share of 25 grants in tax year 2024 by size

$5k–$10k4%

$10k–$25k8%

$25k–$50k8%

$50k–$100k28%

$100k–$250k44%

$250k–$500k0%

$500k–$1M0%

$1M and over8%

Median $100k (tax year 2024)

The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:

Saint Vincent College · Bachelor of science in nursing program, nursing education building
$3,250,0002024 tax year
East Coast Zoological Society · Program support
$1,250,0002024 tax year
Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens · Tropical forest hawai'i exhibit
$204,1932024 tax year
Wake Forest University · Engineering scholarship support
$150,0002024 tax year
Verland · Capital support
$145,5002024 tax year
Society of Saint Vincent de Paul Council of Pittsburgh · Purchase of box truck
$120,0002024 tax year
Leadership Pittsburgh · Program support
$107,0002024 tax year
Volunteer Florida Foundation · Florida distaster fund
$100,0002024 tax year

Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.

Officers and directors

Sarah M Scaife — Trustee
David G Scaife — Trustee
J Nicholas Beldecos — Executive Director
Sara D Scaife — Secretary
Edward J Goncz Sr — Treasurer
Sanford B Ferguson — Vice Chairman
David N Scaife — Chairman

From the latest Form 990-PF filing

3 years of tax filings

Year	Total expenses	Grants paid	Assets	Filing document
2022 tax year	$4,760,576	$3,820,753	$111,963,963	Filing for 2022 tax year
2023 tax year	$8,143,892	$5,154,916	$117,000,454	Filing for 2023 tax year
2024 tax year	$7,545,087	$6,311,693	$117,842,807	Filing for 2024 tax year

Figures from the foundation’s IRS Form 990-PF filings. Assets are at fair market value at year end. The document icon links to each year’s filing on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.